CNN
—
The man who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas wrote of “political grievances,” armed conflicts elsewhere and domestic issues in the days leading up to his suicide, officials said Friday.
The writings were found in the cellphone of Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the truck’s driver, said Sheriff Dori Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in a news conference.
In his writings, the driver of the Cybertruck said the incident was intended not as a “terrorist attack” but rather “a wake-up call,” according to police. He wrote in a letter recovered by investigators that “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence” and “fireworks and explosives” were best to get his point across.
Livelsberger wrote that he needed to “cleanse” his mind of the “brothers I’ve lost” and relieve himself of “the burden of the lives I took.” He said the US was “terminally ill and headed towards collapse.”
The Cybertruck was detonated outside a Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas Wednesday. Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, died in the incident and seven others were injured. Authorities on Friday said his identity had been confirmed.
Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas Division, said the incident appeared to be “a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues.”
Evans said “other family issues or personal grievances in his own life … may have been contributing factors” in the man’s actions. “It’s evident that the subject considered, planned and thoughtfully prepared for this act alone,” he added.
Investigators said they were still pouring over “a lot of content” related to the case, including two cell phones, and noted there was no connection between Livelsberger and the New Orleans attack.
An active-duty US Army Green Beret, Livelsberger was on leave from his base in Germany at the time of the blast, sources told CNN. The explosion was caused by a combination of fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel in the bed of the vehicle detonated by a device controlled by the driver.
In a 10-day “journal of activity” or “surveillance log” kept on one of his phones – from December 21 to December 31 – investigators said Livelsberger chronicled his purchases of firearms, camping equipment and other items.
Editor’s Note: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.
